Coupeville Sports

   Mason Grove (bottom, left) is joined by, clockwise, Ashley (Manker) Bailey, Jared Helmstadter and Paul Mendes, the coach of the 2010 CHS boys soccer team.

There’s a little something for everyone today.

As we prepare to induct the 77th class into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, we’re hitting a lot of bases, with an emphasis on basketball and soccer.

Two athletes, one stellar team and a moment which happened less than 24 hours ago (an “instant” Hall o’ Fame induction) come together as we fling open the door to these hallowed digital halls.

So, with that, we welcome Ashley (Manker) Bailey, Jared Helmstadter, Mason Grove and the 2010 Coupeville High School boys’ soccer squad.

After this, you’ll find them up at the top of the blog, camped out under the Legends tab.

Our first inductee, Bailey, was a standout athlete in two sports, patrolling the goalie’s box on the pitch and defending the paint on the hardwood.

The best goaltender the CHS girls soccer program has had in its relatively short run, she used her height and knowledge picked up from coach/dad Gary to thoroughly frustrate opposing teams.

Put her on the hardwood, when her body would cooperate, and Bailey was a consistent scoring threat (the perfect #2 option to high-scoring teammate Megan Smith) who cleaned the glass like few other Wolves.

And when I say consistent, I mean it, as she scored in 42 of the 44 games she played as a sophomore and senior, breaking double digits 16 times.

Bailey went out battling, dropping a game-high 16 against King’s in a four-point playoff loss during her senior season in 2010, then went on to play both her sports at the collegiate level.

Our second inductee, Grove, is just starting his run. With a season of tennis tucked under one arm, the CHS freshman is now five games into his first basketball season.

And yet he may have already done something no other Wolf has ever accomplished.

As far as I can tell, Brad Sherman and Brian Fakkema, who both hit six three-pointers in a varsity game in the early 2000s, are the gold standard for long-range bombers.

Enter Grove, who nailed seven treys, including three in the fourth quarter, last night, part of a 24-point rampage that lifted the Coupeville JV to a roof-rattling 55-51 win over a South Whidbey squad that had two freshmen 6-foot-4 or taller.

Grove is listed at 5’4 on the CHS roster, but put a ball in his hands and he’s a giant. And now, an instant Hall o’ Famer.

Our third inductee, the 2010 Wolf boys’ soccer squad, stands as the best team in the history of the program.

Playing for legendary coach/original Seattle Sounder Paul Mendes, whose own induction into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame was maybe about #347 on his list of soccer accomplishments, the Wolves won a program-record 12 games that year.

Four of those victories came during a six-game playoff run, in which Coupeville toppled Lynden Christian, Nooksack Valley, Orting and Meridian before falling to Overlake at the state tourney.

Led by a very strong pack of seniors (including five who netted All-Conference honors —  Spencer Tack, Justin Adams, Travis Curtin, Jordan Lamb and Evan Ameluxen-Coleman), the Wolves survived a brutal schedule that season.

Playing in the 1A/2A Cascade Conference, they faced King’s (4th in 1A) and ATM (which lost 1-0 to eventual 2A state champ Bellingham in the quarterfinals), while Overlake went on to finish second in 1A.

Through it all, they relied on an aggressive defense and the goal-tending of Ameluxen-Coleman to reach heights never seen before or since by a Coupeville soccer team.

Our final inductee, Helmstadter, may not have the same numbers as some of his fellow Hall o’ Famers, but he fully deserves his spot as one of the hardest workers I have witnessed in the prep sports world.

Few athletes got as much enjoyment out of their high school sports career as he did, a time when he was the only student in the CHS Class of 2016 to play all 12 seasons.

Through four years of tennis, basketball and track (which ended with a trip to state in the 4 x 400), there was never a moment when Helmstadter didn’t seize whatever opportunity was given him.

Born prematurely at 26 weeks (weighing just two pounds), he wasn’t expected to survive and has dealt with blindness in his left eye his entire life.

Some would give up early, others later. Not Jared.

A tremendously supportive teammate who gave every ounce of energy he had, Helmstadter is the person I would offer up to all young athletes as a role model.

Your high school days are going to be shorter than you think.

Enjoy whatever sports experience you get to have, never stop striving to be the best YOU can be, and walk away with a lot of memories.

Simply put, be like Jared.